Dir: Lana Wilson | US Doc
This observational documentary about psychics doesn’t make any judgements. Simply, it offers the audience a chance to make up their own minds about whether those who seek insight or guidance are disillusioned, lonely – or even bored – and are looking for solace and inspiration.
Choppy excerpts of seven New York ‘unconventional healers’ talking to their clients flash before our eyes: A medic shares her deep anxiety over witnessing the death of a child; a film creative has chosen to combine his psychic power with his screenwriting; another was inspired to develop her spiritual gift by the films of John Waters. For the most part the clients are looking for direction in their careers, their family relationships or their love lives.
While being a genuine source of comfort and fascination for some – seeking psychic help to understand an animal seems bizarre: one woman is keen to known why her Boston Terrier hates being on a lead. The psychic’s answer is banal: “Dottie (the dog) says there’s a lot of anxiety to it”. Spending money to to scope out your dog is clearly a ‘thing’ in New York.
Most people take their sessions really seriously, yet the questions they ask often come across as faintly absurd or even facile in the scheme of things. There are few ‘life or death’ concerns, although one man does want to find out about a connection with his dead father.
When someone has died in tragic circumstances there’s an understandable need to try and find answers beyond the grave, but few interviewed seemed really distraught or desperate for clues. One client wants clarity about the feelings of a young man who killed himself. The psychic asks whether the cause of death involved breathing. And when the client reveals the man hung himself, the response is almost ridiculous: “Well, that would be a breathing issue,” It’s difficult not find this vaguely hilarious. But is Wilson (best known for her Taylor Swift outing Miss Americana) really seeking to amuse. It seems so with this funny but often rather moving film.
Through personal experience I can testify to the powers of a particular psychic: their insight was remarkable and invaluable, so I’m no sceptic. In the UK psychic services are considered an ‘entertainment’ in line with the Fraudulent Mediums Act of 1951. @MeredithTaylor
AT THE BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL from 10 OCTOBER 2024